KALAMAZOO -- Faculty recruitment and retention just got a future $5 million boost at Western Michigan University.

An alumnus of the university pledged to leave $5 million to WMU for that purpose after his death. It's one of the larger gifts Western has received from an individual donor, according to university officials.

The donor, who requested that the university keep his identity private, was an industrial psychology major at WMU and lives in southeast Michigan.

"This is a wonderful gift that clearly reflects the value this generous donor sees in enhancing our students' ability to have ready access to the very best faculty," WMU President John Dunn said in announcing the gift Friday.

"We are immensely grateful to the donor."

Most of the gift, some $3 million, will be used for the university's largest college, the College of Arts and Sciences. Haworth College of Business has been earkmarked about $750,000 of the overall donation, and about $500,000 would go to the College of Health and Human Services.

The remaining 15 percent, or $750,000, will support retention and recruitment efforts campuswide.

According to the terms of the bequest, up to half of the gift may be used to provide "topping off" incentives for the recruitment and retention of top faculty, a WMU news release says.

Thomas Kent, dean of the WMU College of Arts and Sciences, is quoted as saying this allows the college, and the university, to provide "much needed start-up assistance in many areas affecting faculty teaching and research, and also enables us to supply scholarship and fellowship support for graduate students."